Many years ago they banned a guy called Elvis Presley from being shown from the waist up on TV because they thought his lewd hip swinging threatened to “corrupt peoples morals.” Later on the Sex Pistols had a number one single but their spot on the chart was simply left blank because the powers that be decided their band and song name were offensive and a “threat to public morals”

The Dead Kennedys had all the christ cash (inc) of the entire PMRC (Parents Music Resource Centre, i.e. Moral Majority Christians) thrown at them for using world renowned artist H.R. Gigers “Penis Landscape” on their “FrankenChrist” album cover, but the reality was the conservative Christian lobby had been itching for years to get at the DK’s for their hard hitting political statements and “anti-establishment” advocating.

“Rage Against the Machine”…. well, unless you’ve been in a coma for 20 years then it goes without saying. Same for a few like Anti-Flag & Rise Against. One reason given for RATM’s success is that they were one of the few bands actually saying something real about the world and the problems in it, as opposed to “love songs”, party tunes and empty meandering’s . And is it coincidence that not long after these kind of bands start coming up, the safe little genre of “Emo” arrived? A highly saleable consumer combo of punk & gothic where the inane songs focus on “ME ME ME” and the only form of aggression (cutting yourself) is turned inwards and creates no social threat whatsoever? Whoa, the implication that “EMO” was a safe lil’ industry created genre, now there’s a conspiracy theory worthy of the “911 was an inside job” crowd! Cheer up Emo Kid ;).

My question is, when in the last 10 -20 years did anything truly dangerous make it’s way into the mainstream? When did you last hear a song on radio or TV and think “HOLY SHIT, that’s edgy!” or get the feeling that you just witnessed something that could truly shake shit up?

Is it the commercialisation of everything that leads to this “bland, homogenous, “plastic rebellion” I mean, what the FUCK is “Golf Punk”? How dangerous can punk bands be if they need to sell their cover art as iPod covers to pay the bills? And, is it the band’s fault for doing it or the fault of the fans for buying it? In an age where protesters request permission to make a stand and then have to “march between the lines” and the media owners create pop star icons to suit their advertising needs, is punk now nothing more to most people than a genre to check out on iTunes or MySpace, a short little angst stop on the road to becoming a good little normaloid citizen in suburbicide? Does it even matter if it’a all just for poops & giggles?

Even in the mainstream of music, club owners are more likely to hire cover or “concept bands” that play old hits instead of paying original bands to play. Is that the punters fault for wanting a “safe night out” listening to things they already know and if so when did we become more interested in safety than adventure and exploring new boundaries, being the first to discover some killer new band on MySpace and draging ya mates along to see em, whether they wanna go or not?

Anyway, I’m just throwing up some “food for thought” but next time we’re buying our punk rock patches from BIG W or KMART, downloading our Gallows tunes through iTunes (or DL’ing them for FREE & forcing the band to sell those old iPod covers ;), making Doc Martens PTY LTD INC richer or purchasing our “rebellious slogan” t-shirts that were prob made by some multinational company in a third world sweat shop, maybe we should keep the old anarchist slogan in mind: “If voting could really change the system, it would be illegal”
and ask ourselves:

“If any of this we’re TRULY dangerous or a threat in any way, do you really think they’d let us buy, wear, watch, hear or download it?”

And if the answer is “yeah, if there’s a buck in it for them” then I got a feeling that’s because they know they’ve got us all to a point of wanting our toys & noises, our bread & circuses too much to ever really upset the apple cart…

I got a feeling the thing they made safe wasn’t the material, the music, the art, the films or the ideas….

I got a feeling that the thing they made safe and non threatening, was us.

Fuck That Shit! Sunglasses, hoodies, beards, fancy dress & Halloween masks, even make-up, all obscure ppls faces. Unless we’re going to ban all of these things & live in a mass CCTV infested Police State with a Government Approved Dress Code then ppl should have the right, regardless of why, to wear what they want if it doesn’t REALLY infringe on anyone-elses rights.

Anyone who finds young women with their faces covered “scary” or “intimidating” probably need to get therapy rather than give in to their cowardice & fear. I’m not a big fan of religion & i think it’s the biggest control system & dead end archaic form of thinking in the world BUT see that’s my “OPINION” & I like having the freedom to think that. Because the minute you give any bitch or bastard the right to tell you or others what we can wear, watch, listen to, read, think or do, we cease to become a “free citizen”.

I used to have a 12 inch Mohawk, chains going from nose piercings to ear piercings, dog collars & large chains around my neck, shredded jeans, offensive t-shirts & badges, large boots & painted leather jackets w/ a shitload of anti-authoritarian slogans on em’. Some ppl didn’t like it. Some cops didn’t like it, especially up around Rockhampton years ago, but it’s called living in a free country.

The bottom line is, if you don’t like pornography, don’t watch it.
If you don’t like meat, don’t eat it.
Don’t like Burkas?

I’m not into beetroot & don’t want one myself but I’m not shallow or petty enough to think that others having a beetroot sandwich destroys the idea of sandwiches in general or that it will affect the taste of my chicken, vegemite & cheese, or salami/meatball (ho ho) sandwiches.

Also, if I say it’s ok to ban Beetrrot sandwiches based on my prefernce to NOT eat them then I’ve set a precedence that could eventually be used to take away my favourite sandwich (which btw is Salmon, sliced gherkin, hot english mustard, kewpie mayonaise, cheese, cucumber & lettuce on wholegrain washed down w/ a cider).

Let’s face it, the arguements against gay marriage are crap. Tthe population arguement is invalid (there’s already 7 f*ckin billion of us, many of whom can’t be fed), the religous arguement is invalid (“GOD” is apparently omniscient and as such made all things EXACTLY as they should be so take it up with him/her/it) & the “it’ll encourage the kids to be Gay” arguement is invalid AND retarded (I saw a HELL OF A LOT of ppl playing cricket as a kid but short of a gun to thead, you ain’t gettin me to stand in a field for hours while some twit in white chucks balls at another guy with a stick)

Australia’s Religion is Nationalism. I’ve met Flag-Humpers that are a hundred times worse than any Bible-Basher. Even Jesus Freaks don’t demand you leave the country for simply not agreeing with them.“Bury your crosses, Burn your flags,
The ties that blind, The chains that drag,
Bury your crosses, Burn your flags”Erasing Borders – The MOLOTOV